I have started blogging again, but have changed addresses. I am now blogging at AnIdolHeart.com. There has been, and continues to be, a lot of life change for me, and this new blog is where I will be talking a lot about it. There will be no more updates to The Gideon Chronicles, so please join me at AnIdolHeart.com.

If you had previously bookmarked or listed me in your blog roll, would you please be so kind to update the listing to AnIdolHeart.com? Thanks!

i used to be the biggest g.i. joe fan. i don’t remember when it all started, but growing up i was all about the entire g.i. joe franchise… the toys, the comic books, the tv show… all of it. i had all the action figures, vehicles and accessories… all the comic books… i kept all the file cards in a box… you name it. i was really into transformers as well, but i was definitely much more of a g.i. joe fanatic. i actually went to great lengths to avow my allegiance to the “real american hero”, but i’ll save those stories for another time. 🙂

first there was the live action transformers film and now g.i. joe fever is heating up around the world as the countdown is on to the august 7, 2009 release of the g.i. joe: the rise of cobra live action film! this probably makes me somewhat a geek, but i am so excited!! i’m also excited that during a 6 week span this summer both the g.i. joe film and transformers 2: revenge of the fallen (6.26.09!!!) hit theaters! i know… geek. 🙂

the film is being directed by stephen sommers (director of the mummy) and among the characters that will be appearing in the film are duke, scarlett, snake eyes (!), storm shadow (!!), cobra commander, destro, the baroness, zartan (can’t wait to see that!), hawk and heavy duty. word on the street is that there are already plans for at least two sequels, as well. some of the first character posters from the movie set have just hit the net… and wow, i am such a nerd. haha! here they are…

2008 marks the 30 year anniversary of prince’s first album release. 30 years, people.

you would be hard pressed to name any other artist who has single handedly changed the game, across the board, to the degree that prince has. all artists experience their share of career highs and lows, but there are so many notable peaks in prince’s storied career that his impact and influence on pop culture is undeniable. as a musician, songwriter, performer, innovator, you name it… he is ever evolving and revealing new facets of his artistry in ways that are consistently ahead of his time. he is in a class by himself. always has been, always will be. sure, he’s eccentric (code for “weird”), but he has continually pressed the envelope and challenged the status quo with such brazen swagger that quite simply, no one can touch him.

i’ve actually been a prince fan since 1984, during the height of the purple rain era. yes, i was only 9 but i had never heard any music like that before. the rest is history. i will never forget thursday, may 6, 2004. i got a call from a friend who had purchased a ticket to prince’s musicology tour stop in nashville that night but had to go out of town for business unexpectedly at the last minute. she only had one ticket, but gave it to me… so i went to the concert by myself, and had a blast!

in the past few days, news has leaked that prince is poised to crash hard into 2009. what rolling stone recently scooped as one new album was just this week revealed to la times’ writer ann powers to be no less than three new albums. that’s right, not one, not two, but three new albums this year… two bearing the title “mplsound” and one “lotus flower”. reportedly, he is in final negotiations with a major retailer for the physical release of the new music. check ann’s blog for details.

two weeks ago, in keeping with his new mantra “the gatekeepers must change”, prince side stepped the power players and premiered 4 brand new songs on los angeles’ indie 103 radio. the new songs “4ever”, “colonized mind”, “wall of berlin” and “crimson & clover” are now floating around cyberspace and sending prince fans worldwide into a frenzy. sure, he’s notorious for fiercely fighting for copyright protection, but he’s no fool… he knows exactly what he’s doing.

prince’s career is nothing short of iconic. always the innovator, expect to see some very outside the box things from him this year… and i can’t wait!

mcdonalds is the worst. first of all, as my friend aaron recently said, ‘it’s not even real food’. now this. mcdonald’s has long been the worst at pandering, er, “marketing” to the “cultural idiosyncrasies” of their consumer base.

“you got that mcnuggets lovin’…” wait, is this a ne-yo song? i don’t know whether to be offended, laugh, cry or what.

the only thing that’s worse than the ad itself is the fact that it will probably work. smh.